Sugar Rush: Return of A King
by HardWrapping
Summary: It's been a year and a half since the update brought the Sweet Tooth racers to Sugar Rush. The Candy and Sweet Tooth kingdoms have lived together peacefully. But a new threat now has Vanellope on the run, and fighting a very one sided battle that will not only decide the fate of her game, but that of the entire arcade. Sequel to Sugar Rush: Rival Racing.
1. A New Threat Revealed!

Deep within the Big Rock Candy Mountain, five figures stood in the middle of a damp cave. "It's about time isn't?" One of the figures asked impatiently.

"Stop being in such a rush. For my plan to work the timing needs to be perfect. Any action taken to early could throw the whole thing off balance." Another answered.

"Humph." This figure was smaller and sounded more feminine. "Are you sure it's not just because you're a totally freak when it comes to organizing things?" She asked.

"That can't be true, seeing as last time he just totally threw caution to the wind and screwed his entire plan up." Another said bluntly.

"Oh, as if you're one to talk about failed schemes."

"That was different!"

"Was it? Because it didn't turn out any different than my plans!"

The girl giggled. "Now boys, your both total failures." She said.

"Shut up brat." The second figure said bitterly.

Another of the figures coughed getting their attention. "Excuse me children, but I think we have important matters to discuss. Like if this insane plan even had a chance of success in the first place. It's long and complicated, and personally I think it takes way too many risks."

"High risk high reward." The fifth figure said bluntly.

"But don't you think we're gambling a bit too big here? I mean the entire fate of the arcade hangs in the balance. We can't afford to just leave this to chance."

The second figure slammed his hand on the table. "It'll work!" He said sternly. "It'll work as long as all of you perform your part of the plan to a tee! I'm trusting you to come through and do your part, none of you better make me regret it!"

"You're on our case about trust? After all you've done you're lucky we don't just get rid of you right now!" The first figure shouted.

"Try it…"

The two both stood in front of one another. The smallest figure was giggling at the scene, the tallest one looked like he was going to try and stop them, while the fifth just stood and watched. "You're lucky we have bigger fish to fry, brat."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." He stepped back and leaned against a rock. "Humph. I can't wait to take my kingdom back from that ignorant fool. Then I won't be stuck out here with you lot and living in a cave." He spat.

"And who says once this is over you get the throne back? I'd say someone younger and more deserving should be the ruler." The girl said.

"If you think I'm going to let you-"

"Children, we can sort all of that out later. For now we need to make sure everything goes according to plan." The tallest figure spoke.

They all nodded in agreement. "Who should we start with?"

"The Sweet Tooth Kingdom. They're going to be vulnerable. If we waste our time dealing with the glitch first everything will just become one jumbled mess."

"Okay then, let's get going."

One of the figures suddenly vanished into thin air, while another suddenly began floating away. The remaining three all began heading deeper into the cave. "You're sure this will work?"

"For the hundredth time, I'm sure." He said with a sigh.

"Okay, I just want to make sure. The fate of the arcade-"

"The fate of the arcade hangs in the balance, so you keep reminding me. Don't worry old man, I know what's at stake." The figure said sternly. He pulled off his hood and then looked towards the end of the tunnel, where a glowing blue light was.

Yes, a battle was coming. A battle that held the future for the entire arcade.

And when the dust cleared, Garry Gumball intended to be the one on top.

* * *

><p>Sugar Rush, an adorable little game over near the Whack-A-Mole that's famous throughout the arcade. It's fairly popular to the kids that frequently visit Litwak's Family Fun Center &amp; Arcade. But that's not what makes it famous. No, what makes it so famous is its history within the game itself. This not so humble little racing game was the stage for not one, but two battles that would determine the very fate of the arcade.<p>

It had been about fifteen years since Turbo had first taken over the game. No one had known the ruler of the sweet and sugary game wasn't the real ruler. At least not until one Wreck-It Ralph decided to game jump and exposed the faker. He also ended up destroying said faker, and returning the throne to rightful ruler, Vanellope Von Schweetz.

Ralph was hailed as a hero by the residents of the arcade, Vanellope was restored to her rightful place as leader, and the game had finally known piece. For about a six months anyway. Soon afterwards a new problem arose in the form of a selfish ruler named Garry Gumball, who hatched a plan to take power from Vanellope and take over the entire game.

Once again, the arcade was saved. But this time not by Ralph. It was the children of Sugar Rush, both the old and new characters, who led the rest of the arcade against the tyrant. Garry disappeared after the whole mess, and the game once again knew peace. It had been a year and a half since that incident had taken place.

"Madam President." Vanellope stirred in her bed, but made no move to get up. It was the arcades off day, and she wanted to sleep in. "Madam President." The voice repeated.

She sighed and then saw up, her black candy coated hair sticking all over the place. "What do you want Sour Bill?" She asked with a yawn.

"You need to get up Madam President. You have a very busy schedule today." Sour Bill explained holding up a clip board.

She let out a groan and then pushed herself out of bed. "What could possibly be on my list of things to do today? The arcade is closed, the roster randomizer is working properly, and as far as I know the kingdom isn't under attack, so what?"

"Well, first of all Minty needs your approval to test that new invention of her. Ever since the last one nearby destroyed the left wing of the castle you said she needed your approval to test any new inventions. Then you need to sign off on the supply ship delivering the pumpkins from Trickery-Treat Island. Then of course there's…"

As Sour Bill went on, a small little white rabbit jumped up onto Vanellope's bed. She reached down and patted it on the head. "At least you know how to greet someone in the morning Marshmallow." She mumbled under her breath.

"Madam President, were you listening?" Sour asked.

Vanellope rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah, I'm on it." She said jumping out of bed. "Just let me get dressed and get some breakfast, and I'll be on it in no time."

"Of course. I'll go to the kitchen and have the chef whip something up for you." He said before bowing. He then turned around and made his way out of the door.

She watched him leave and then quickly made her way to her closest. Marshmallow followed after her. "What do you think I should wear today?" She asked jokingly. She only had one outfit… well, two technically, but she was never planning on wearing that atrocity of a dress again.

Marshmallow jumped up and latch onto one of her outfits, a blue hoodie and Reese's skirt. She grabbed it from the hanger and smiled. "Good choice." Afterwards she took a bath, got dressed, and began making her way down to the mess hall. It used to just be a regular kitchen, but she'd expanded it so the citizens and racers could come and eat if they wanted to.

It had been her idea to open it to everyone. A way to get closer to her citizens and show her she wasn't all uppity and selfish. When she entered she saw Taffyta, Rancis, and Candlehead sitting over near the windows. Snowanna, Crumbalina, and Jubileena were sitting a few tables down from them.

Adorabeezle was nowhere to be seen, which honestly worried her. She'd been seeing less and less of the frost themed girl lately. "Yo Princess! Saved you a seat!"

Vanellope looked over and smiled when she saw Gloyd sitting alongside Swizzle and Minty. She made her way over and took a seat next to him. "Morning pumpkin head." She said picking up a starburst from his plate. "Mm, orange."

Gloyd scoffed. "Get your own breakfast." He said trying to take it back. She suddenly glitched over to the right, avoiding him. "Oh, we're playing it that way huh?" He asked with a smirk.

Swizzle rolled his eyes and Minty giggled. "Oh here we go." Swizzle said sighing.

They both turned towards him. "What?" Vanellope asked.

"You're little morning flirty routine. Pick something off her plate, and then he tries to get it back, and you glitch away, and he chases you. Then you wrestle for a few minutes and… uh, it's just so sickeningly sweet." He said sticking his tongue out.

Gloyd blushed and then frowned towards him. "We don't do that every morning! And we're not flirting, we're just… playing."

"Oh come on. You're almost as bad as Jubileena and Larry."

Vanellope scoffed. "Oh come on! Nobody's as bad as them, you're just being stupid." She said before turning to Minty. "Tell him Mints."

The green haired girl shrugged. "You two have gotten… closer. Remember when all he did was pull pranks and tic you off. Now you're always going to tappers together and 'wrestling'." She said making air quotes.

Both Gloyd and Vanellope were turning redder by the second. "Yeah, well what about you two. You're always sneaking off to go have your little kissy sessions!" Gloyd countered.

Minty turned red and looked towards Swizzle. "You told them!"

"Of course I told them. What's the point of being a ladies man if I don't get to brag about it?" He said with a smirk. She punched him on the arm. "OW! What's the big deal?"

"You don't tell people about stuff like that! You are so dense!" She turned away from him and crossed her arms. Swizzle sighed and then went back to his breakfast.

Gloyd chuckled. "Remember when you thought girls had cooties?"

"Well so did you!" Swizzle argued.

Vanellope rolled her eyes and Minty sighed. "Unbelievable…"

They suddenly heard a loud scream coming from outside, followed by a howl. They all turned their heads towards the door and saw a large beastly figure burst through. It was a Waffle Wolf. "Fudge! Get him, get him!" An Oreo guard yelled running through the door after him. A whole troop of Oreo guards began swarming around the creature.

All the citizens and even some of the racers began getting up and running to the exit at opposite direction. The wolf didn't even seem to notice the guards charging towards it. It was looking around the mess hall seemingly trying to find something, or someone.

The first guards jabbed his spear at the wolf, but it moved its head and then bit down on it, breaking it easily. It then turned around swinging its tail and knocking over the rest of the guards. It then jumped over towards Vanellope and the others.

Swizzle stood up and quickly stood in front of Minty, and Gloyd was about to do the same with Vanellope until she jumped up and glitched towards the wolf. "Walf!" She yelled happily. The wolf tackled her to the ground and then began licking her face. "Oh, hey! Ha-ha! Stop, that tickles! You're getting slobber all over me you mutt!"

Gloyd and Swizzle let out a sigh of relief. "It's just Walf." Gloyd said walking over and petting the dog on the head. It sat up and then licked Gloyd's face. "Uh, gross. Man, you have to stop barging in like that. You keep giving everyone a heart attack."

Walf was, of course, a waffle wolf. While they were normally nothing but wild animals that attacked anything that moved, he was a special case. He had managed to be tamed by Jimmy somehow, and he was usually sent to deliver messages to them.

Minty walked over and began rubbing him was well. "He looks like he's in top form." She said before plucking a small hair from his coat. "For later…" She mumbled.

Swizzle walked over, but then Walf saw him he began growling. "Yeah, yeah, I don't like you either." Swizzle said crossing his arms. The first time Walf had arrived unannounced, Swizzle had fired a Sweet Seeker at him, and the animal had held a grudge ever since.

Vanellope scratched him under the chin and then pulled out a small piece of paper from underneath his collar. "It's a letter from the Sweet Tooth kingdom."

"What?!" They all turned and saw a blur of red headed towards them. Jubileena stopped in front of them with a look of hope in her eyes. "Is it from Larry?!"

"No." Vanellope said rolling her eyes. Jubileena pouted. "It's from Jimmy. He says that's he's coming to visit us tomorrow. He's talking about the resigning of the peace treating."

Part of the peace treaty they had established after Garry left was that they would have a resigning every year. It was supposed to be a reminder of how close the two kingdoms had become, but Vanellope and Jimmy themselves thought it was pretty stupid. Why did they need to resign it every year? Why not just have one that lasted forever.

On the other hand, it did give them an excuse to throw a wicked party.

Jubileena's face brightened up. "So, the resigning! I almost forgot that was next month! I'll finally get to see my Larry again!" She said happily.

"You see him every day…" Gloyd pointed out.

She waved him off. "Of course I see him doing the races, but for the past months he's been so busy helping Jimmy with his royal duties, he hasn't had time to come and visit me."

Vanellope knew what she was talking about. Ever since they had discovered another island in the game, called Trickery Treat Island, they had been going through all the tasks that came with making sure there was peace between them. Making treaties, trading supplies and food, and plenty of other things to get done. It had kept her pretty busy as well.

Crumbelina walked over and Walf immediately turned towards her. He ran over to the girl and nuzzled her face. She giggled. "Okay, okay, I'm glad to see you too." Walf turned his head and revealed a daisy tucked in the side of his collar.

"I take it that's from your boyfriend." Snowanna said smirking.

Crumbelina pouted, but couldn't hide the blush from her face. "Humph, if he thinks I'm going to forgive him just because he sends a few flowers he'd dead wrong." She said simply. The others all pitied Jimmy right about now. Though Crumbelina had never admitted it, she and Jimmy had a bit of a thing going. And she would get fairly jealous when other girls paid attention to Jimmy.

The fact that he didn't seem to notice also annoyed her, so every now and then she would end up being annoyed and ignoring him, which left Jimmy stumbled and confused. He always won her over again, but he never seemed to get why she was angry with him in the first place.

Swizzle shook his head. "Poor guy."

Walf knelt down in front of Vanellope, and she pulled out a gummy worm from the front of her hoodie. She held it up in front of him. "You want it boy?" She asked. He jumped up and down excitedly. "Well, you did run all the way here, so I guess you earned it." She tossed it to him and he grabbed it and began chewing on it.

Sour Bill walked over and stared towards Vanellope. "Madam President, may I please have a word with you? It's very important."

Vanellope frowned. "Fine."

Sour Bill walked out of the kitchen, and Vanellope followed. "Madam President, I do believe I should give you this." He said pulling out another piece of paper.

"What the-? What is this?" She asked.

"It's another message from King Jimmy he sent along with Walf. I would have given it to you sooner but… well, apparently it was only meant for you, and you have a habit of readings things out loud sometimes, so I figured better safe than sorry."

Vanellope unwrapped the piece of paper. Only meant for her? That was strange. Was did could possibly be so important that Jimmy took extra care to separate it from the other letter?

_Dear Vanellope,_

_I bet you're wondering why I sent this letter separately from the other. Well, I had too. This is kind of important and I didn't want anyone else finding out about it. Fudge, I didn't even tell Larry about this. It's about the source code. _

Vanellope grew wide eyed. The source code? This really was serious.

_Lately it's been acting… weird. I mean when I first got it I could feel all the power inside surging through me. But now for some reason it's gotten weaker. I mean it's still there, I'm still powerful, but it's like I feel less and less of it with each day. _

_You've had the source code a lot longer than me, even if you didn't know it, so I was hoping you might be able to help me figure out what's going on. I don't know, maybe it's just because I haven't had to use it since Walf. Anyway, send a letter back with Walf. He knows to bring everything directly to me. And don't tell anyone else about it. If word gets around the citizens may start panicking. The bunch of pansies. _

_Your friend, Jimmy Jawcracker. _

_Ps. Can't wait for the party next month, going to drink Root beer until I pass out._

Vanellope rolled her eyes at the last part. Still, this was definitely something to worry about. Truth be told she had noticed the source code within her growing weaker as well. She'd thought the same thing Jimmy had. That it was simply just because she hadn't had to use it in forever. At least she hoped that's what it was.

After all, she'd had half the source code before and didn't even notice it until Garry pulled it out of her. Why would now be any different? "Thanks for showing me this Bill. I'm going to go write Jimmy back, don't let Walf leave until I get back."

Sour Bill groaned. "Great, dog sitting."

* * *

><p>Jimmy sat on his throne with a bored expression on his face. It was getting late, and he had pretty much nothing to do. Larry had thankfully handled most of the paper work he had for the day, he really was thankful his friend was so good with that stuff. There had been no complaints from any of the townspeople.<p>

There had been an attack by a gummy bear earlier, but Fang had taken care of it before Jimmy could even get there. Usually he was glad to have a day of nothing to do, since the duties he had to perform were mind numbing. But now he was starting to wish he had even just a little paper work or something leftover.

He stood up and began stretching. Sitting on this stupid chair all day just wasn't his style. He needed to be able to move about, to be active. Larry was probably busy in the library, and Manny had the day off, so there was no one to keep tabs on him either. Maybe he would go out to Tapper's and get a Root Beer. It had been a while since he'd been by there.

"Jimmy Jawcracker." A voice suddenly said.

Jimmy looked around but saw no one. Just as he was about to ask who was there, a tall cloaked figure appeared in front of him. Jimmy glared at the figure. "Who are you?" He asked glaring towards them. "How did you get in here?"

"It was pretty easy actually." Another, more girlish, voice said. Jimmy looked up and saw another figure standing on what looked like a giant punk bubble. "With Garry gone the gum guardians aren't around anymore, and without your head guard here sneaking in was pretty much a breeze. You should get some better security."

He watched as the second figure floated down beside the first. "In any case, who we are isn't important. What is important is what's behind that throne of yours."

Jimmy glanced back behind him and then turned back to them. "The code room?"

"If you stand down and just let us in, we won't have any problems. If you resist or try to call for help, we'll have to deal with you." The taller figure warned holding up his hand. Small sparks began forming around his hand.

"So, why don't you just be a good boy and stand down?" The girl asked holding up her hands. Two pink bubbles appeared over the palms of her hands.

Jimmy suddenly grew a wide smile on his face. "Call for help? Stand down? Are you kidding me?" He asked cracking his knuckles. "This is perfect. I was just thinking about how boring it was around here, and now I have something to pass the time."

"Well, aren't you eager for a fight? Is that really the type thing a king should say?" The girl asked giggling. "Shouldn't you try to negotiate or something first?"

Jimmy began running towards them. "Negotiation is for wussies!"

The girl swung her arms and the two bubbles in her hands went flying towards Jimmy. He easily moved out of the way and the bubbles kept going, exploding when they hit the throne behind him. "Careful! Don't damage the code room!"

"Instead of worrying about the stupid code room, worry about me!" Jimmy yelled as he threw a fist towards the taller figure. The figure lifted his arm to block the punch, not even looking a bit panicked by Jimmy's attack. "Don't underestimate me!"

Jimmy's fist suddenly began to glow, and when he made contact the figure was knocked back. He went flying back and smashed through the wall. He kept going, smashing through three more wall, and landing somewhere in the royal portrait room. "Holy mother of monkey milk!" The smaller figure yelled shocked.

The white haired racer frowned. "Man, maybe I shouldn't have used the Source Code. That was way too quick." He said looking disappointed.

"C-cheater! Using the Source Code in a fight isn't fair!"

Jimmy turned towards her and she flinched. She held her hand out and shot another bubble at him, but he slapped it away. He then pointed his finger at the bubble she was standing on, and it popped. The girl fell to the ground, landing right on her butt. "You're an intruder breaking into my castle. Do you expect me to play fair?"

He walked over towards her and lifted his hand. The girl covered her head and squealed in far, but then was confused when Jimmy patted her on the head. "Huh?"

"Any guy who would lay his hand on a women is despicable." Jimmy said bluntly. The figure looked at him in confusion. Wasn't he just talking about fighting them a minute ago? "That and the fact that you're just a brat. Now tell me what you're doing here, before I spank you."

The figure turned and tried to run away, but Jimmy grabbed the back of her cloak and lifted her off the ground. She was small even by Sugar Rush standards. "Let me go!" She shouted.

Jimmy pulled the hood of her cloak down and then looked shocked. The girl had a shocking resemblance to Garry. She had pink eyes, white hair tired into two pigtails, and even a little tiara on her head. "What the-?! Who are you?!"

The figure Jimmy knocked away suddenly reappeared behind him. Before he could react, the figure placed a hand on Jimmy's back. He felt a shock run through his spine and then fell forward onto his knee. "I'm honestly impressed. I didn't think you had that much control over the source code." The figure said before turning to the girl. "You let him see your face."

She pouted and crossed her arms, a blush appearing over her face. "So what? It's not going to matter anyhow. Let's just go to the code room and get this over with."

Jimmy growled and tried to stand up, but the figure reached out and touched him again, sending another shock through his body. He fell forward onto the ground. "That should keep him from making any more trouble until we're done."

The girl looked down at Jimmy for a few seconds before puffing her cheeks. "Fool." She said shaking her head. Suddenly a loud siren went off. "Great, you set off the alarm."

"If you'd have finished it then-"

"Don't blame this on me! You're the one who made a bunch of ruckus by getting knocked through a wall! This is all on you!"

The figure glared at her before turning back towards the throne. It wasn't like he could argue with her, it was kind of his fault. "Let's just hurry before his troublesome friends get here."

The girl flung another bubble towards the throne, blowing away what was left of it. They walked past remains of the throne, the little girl struggling to keep up with her tiny legs, and stopped in front of the door to the code room.

The taller one typed in the code, and the door opened. "Okay, let's get to work."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: ALRIGHT! The first chapter is finally up!**** Sorry about taking so long, but I must have rewritten this chapter about five times. I obviously knew what I was planning to do for the story, but I wanted the introduction to be perfect. I wanted to make it easy for people who hadn't read the previous story to get lost.  
><strong>

**The peace in Sugar Rush doesn't look like it's going to last too long! What's going to happen now?!**

**Seems like Garry is up to his scheming ways again! And he even has help this time! What exactly is he planning? Who is the mysterious girl who bears his resemblance? Who are the other cloaked figures helping them? Why do they need to get into the code room? To find out you're going to have to tune in to the next chapter! **

**For those of you who didn't read Garry's short story, this story is going to be considerably longer than the previous one. And I've decided I was going to aim for a thousand reviews. I just figured it was something to aim for. So remember to leave reviews, whether it's just criticism, support, or just to say hi. Anyhow I hope you liked this introduction. **


	2. Royal Rumble!

**A/N: 14 Reviews in just chapter one, not a bad start guys! **

**Anyway, I'm sorry for taking this long to update. It was supposed to be a lot sooner but... I'll be honest with you. I recently got 'Super Smash Bros Wii U' and me and my friends have spent the past couple days playing it. It's just so awesome and addicting. And whenever I sat down to finish the chapter, it was either super late or I had something else on my plate. **

**I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and remember to read and review! Remember, I'm trying to reach 1000 so every one counts!**

* * *

><p><em>Jimmy laid on the ground struggling to get up. "He really is a tough nut to crack. Let me finish him off." The girl said making another bubble appear in her hand. <em>

"_No, he's necessary." The cloaked figure said bending down and putting his finger up to Jimmy's forehead. "He's going to be of great use to us later." _

_A spark shot from his fingers and stuck Jimmy in temple. "Him, useful? I find that hard to believe." Jimmy's slowly started to lose consciousness. "But if you say so." _

"_Now let's get moving. We'll have to make it to the other one by midnight."_

* * *

><p>"Hermano! Hermano!"<p>

Jimmy's eyes shot open and he raised his fist ready to attack, but stopped when he saw it was only Larry. "Wha-?! What happened?! Where did they go?!" He shouted looking around.

Larry gave him a confused look. "What? What are you talking about?" Larry asked.

Jimmy quickly got up. "The ones who attacked me! The guy in the cloak and the little girl who looked like Garry! Where did they…" Jimmy looked around and his eyes widened. He'd just gotten up from his throne, the very throne that had been destroyed a minute ago. And the wall he smashed the figure through, they were all fixed. How?

"Amigo, I think you need to get to bed. You're clearly tired and not thinking clearly." Larry said putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You know we have to head over to meet with Vanellope tomorrow, why don't you get some rest."

Jimmy kept looking around the room. What in the world had just happened? One minute he was on the ground writhing in pain, and now… it was like nothing had happened. The sirens were no longer ringing, his injuries were gone, and all the damage had been undone. "I… there were people here Larry." He said seriously.

"Maybe you were dreaming?" Larry suggested. Jimmy frowned and quickly got up. He stomped on the first stair up his throne, and it began sliding to the left. "Que?"

Jimmy walked up to the door to the code room, which was closed just as he left it, and then entered the code. It opened and Jimmy jumped inside. He floated around the place checking to make sure everything was okay. Nothing seemed out of place. "They were here! I know it!"

Larry pulled him back with one of his whips, and then looked at him worriedly. "Jimmy, you've been overworking yourself lately. Between Trickery-Treat Island and the duties around here, you're probably just tired. Go to bed."

Jimmy frowned and then rubbed his head. No, that was no dream… or maybe it was. To be honestly his memory was a bit hazy right now. Like he had just woken up or something. Maybe it had something to do with the source code. But what was all that about?

The cloaked figure, the girl who looked like Garry. None of it made any sense. But the feeling in his gut was telling him something was up. "We're going to leave early tomorrow." Jimmy said walking off towards his room.

"What? Why?"

"Because I have a bad feeling." Jimmy said bluntly. "Tell Manny and Tea to get ready to leave in the morning. I want you to stay here and make sure everything stays in one piece."

Larry frowned. "But I was looking forward to going and seeing my beloved." He said sadly. "Jimmy, I know you have a sixth sense about things, and it admittedly turns out to be right most of the time. But don't you think you're being paranoid?"

Jimmy rubbed the back of his head. "Look, I just need to be sure about this, okay. It could be nothing, probably is nothing. I just need time to make sure it's nothing. And you're the only one I trust to run the place while I'm gone."

Larry sighed. He was pretty much the only option when it came to covering Jimmy. Tea was a kind and caring person, but she simply couldn't handle all the pressure. Fang always vanished at random times, so he wasn't exactly reliable. Manny was an ideal choice, but he was Jimmy's head guard. Whenever Jimmy went somewhere, he had to do.

The twins and Dough were… it didn't really need to be explained why they couldn't take over. The last time Dough was in a position of power he ate everything. "I suppose so." Larry admitted. "Do me a favor and tell her how much I miss her."

"Look, when this is over I'll give you the week off to spend with your girlfriend." Jimmy said heading out the door. It wasn't like he would need Larry's help. The peace treaty party was being thrown at the Candy Kingdom, so he didn't have anything to worry about.

Larry smiled. "Really? Gracias hermano!" He said thankfully.

"No problem." He said closing the doors behind him. He didn't care what Larry said, there was no way that was a dream. It felt too real… to scary. And the little Garry look-alike, that was definitely not just some random thing. There had to be something more to this, and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

As he made his way to his room, he heard footsteps coming towards him and then was tackled to the ground by none other than Walf. The dog began licking him all over and Jimmy struggled to push him off. "Okay, okay! Down boy! Just stop with the licking! Gah, it's in my mouth!" He said flailing. "Walf!" He called sharply.

The wolf stopped and stood straight up, ears pointed up into the air. Jimmy sighed and patted him. "I'm sorry boy. I'm happy to see you, I'm just no in the playing mood right now."

Walf whined sadly, but then his eyes widened. He sniffed at Jimmy for a few second, then ran back towards the throne room. Jimmy raised an eyebrow and then began following him. The beast made his way past Larry almost knocking him over. "Hey!"

Jimmy ran past him as well. "Something up!" Jimmy said as Walf burst into the throne room. He began sniffing around the room, and his eyes turned sharp. He looked around growling.

"What's his deal?" Larry asked annoyed.

Jimmy kept watching him for a few seconds, then grew wide eyed. "The scent…" Walf could pick up someone's scene even in the heaviest blizzards, and whenever he picked up a stranger's scent he was always cautious. He did the same thing the first time he picked up Vanellope's and the other scents too. If he was acting like this, it meant that someone really had been here.

"What?" Larry asked.

Jimmy said nothing. He kept thinking about the last couple of things he remembered. "_We have to make it to the other one by midnight._"

His eyes shot open in realization and he looked towards the code room. There was one in the Candy Kingdom too. Could that mean they were heading there next? "Larry, I'm leaving." He said jumping on Walf's back. "Tell Fang and Manny to meet me at the Candy kingdom as soon as possible."

"What? Why?"

Jimmy turned his hat backwards and grabbed onto Walf tightly. "To find out what's really going on. I really hope your right and I'm going crazy, otherwise…" Jimmy scowled and then patted Walf, who took off with blinding speed.

Larry looked after them confused. Jimmy really was serious about this wasn't he? Well, even if he didn't understand what was happening, he trusted him enough to take his word. If he felt this strongly about it, something must be going on. He walked off to go find Manny and Fang.

* * *

><p>Vanellope, Swizzle, and Gloyd stood outside of Minty's house and waited impatiently. It had been half an hour since the girl had called them there, and so far as they'd done is stand around and listen to the various noises coming from inside. She was really thinking about postponing this until tomorrow. It was getting late and she wanted to go to bed.<p>

"Man, this is taking forever." Swizzle complained. He was used to having to wait for Minty all the time, but it never stopped him from complaining about it.

"Whatever this is better be worth it." Vanellope said tapping her foot.

"I'm sure it'll be… interesting." Gloyd said unsure of himself. Minty made a lot of inventions, and while some of them turned out really awesome, others turned out… well, Sour Bill made it a personal goal to be as far away as possible when experiments were going on.

The door finally opened and Minty stepped out wearing a strange looking belt around her waist. "Sorry to keep you guys waiting. But I guarantee you're going to love this."

"What's with the belt?" Swizzle asked curiously.

"Getting to that." She said adjusting the belt. "Now, you guys know how long it takes for us to get to the Sweet Tooth kingdom. We have to prep out karts, bring extra items in case of wild animals, all that troublesome jazz. Well, what if we could eliminate all of that?"

Vanellope grew a smirk on her face. "I'm listening."

"Fang's character item, Satsu No Sugar Rush, is a massive power up that maxes out all his stats, and gives him an even more insane speed boost. Well, I've harnessed some of his aura into this belt here." She said tapping the small glass orb on the buckle of the belt.

Swizzle walked up to her and looked at it closely. There was a small red glow coming from inside the glass orb. "So… what is this?" Swizzle asked.

"This is some of his aura. When I hit the button here…" She pointed to the button on the side of the belt. "…it distributes the aura through the rest of the belt and to me. It gives you greater strength, durability, and stamina. More importantly it gives you a huge speed boost."

The other three children looked impressed. "Wow, that's awesome!" Gloyd said walking up towards her. "So you basically just mass produced Fang's character item?"

"Oh no, it's not nearly as powerful as his. But it's enough to turn the hours of travel between kingdoms into a few short minutes." She explained. "Want to try it?"

Gloyd and Swizzle both nodded, but Minty walked past them and offered it to Vanellope. "No thanks. I'm good. I don't know what mixing Fang's powers with my glitch could do. It might turn pretty messy, you know." She said. "Give it to pumpkin head."

"Yes!" Gloyd cheered pumping his fist.

"Aw man!" Swizzle said crossing his arms.

Gloyd put the belt on and then pressed the button the side. His eyes widened as his whole body suddenly felt tingly. "Whoa… this is weird." He said looking down at his hands. He felt… energized. Like he could run a marathon. But he wasn't hyper like when he had too much sugar. He was more focused. Like he was suddenly aware of every little detail around him.

Vanellope waved a hand in front of him. "You okay man?" She asked. He looked at her closely, taking in every feature on her face. Vanellope blushed slightly under his gaze. She looked down and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Hey, quit the staring. You're creeping me out."

Gloyd stopped and scratched his chin. "Sorry."

Minty walked behind him and gave him a light shove. "Well, don't just stand there. Give it a test run. I want to know if there are any side effects." She said eagerly.

"Side effects…?" Vanellope asked worriedly.

Before they could say anything, Gloyd took off. All the others saw was an orange blur. Gloyd rushing through the town. He'd never felt so energized in his life. It was like going full speed in the Kernel, but on foot. "This is so awesome!"

He headed towards the castle and ran right towards the wall. He'd seen Sonic do this plenty of time, but he wanted to know if he could actually pull it off himself. He ran up the wall and then leapt off the top. He landed in the courtyard and pumped his fist. "It worked! It totally worked!"

This was the greatest! Outside of racing, he didn't think anything could match this feeling. He had to imagine what Vanellope felt like when she was glitching. He decided to get back to the others and sped back towards Minty's house.

When he got there the three were looking at him in shock. "Whoa, dude that was awesome." Swizzle said looking amazed. "Let me try it!"

Minty quickly snatched it away. "No way! I told you I only have a limited supply of this stuff, and no way am I going to let you two waste it all." She scolded. "Anyway, were there any side effects? Feel any soreness or tiredness?" She asked.

Gloyd shook his head. "No. Well, I guess I'm a little bit tired, but no more when my usual running." He said. "Seriously, can I have that thing? The pranks I can pull with it!"

Vanellope looked down at the belt impressed. "Man, that thing is pretty cool Mints. It gets the official presidential approval." She said giving her a thumbs up. "When do you think you can make some more of these bad boys?"

Minty rubbed her chin. "Well, I still want to run a few test to make sure this one works properly. Then I have to find a way to replicate Fang's aura, or find another suitable power source. I can't really give you a sure date."

"Well, take as much time as you need. Those things look like they'd be worth it." Vanellope said turning towards her kart. "Anyway, I'm heading back now. It's getting late, we need to get to bed and get ready for tomorrow."

"I'll go with you." Gloyd said heading towards his own kart.

Swizzle stretched his arms out as he walked towards his kart as well. "Yeah, I'm getting sleepy. I'll see you tomorrow babe." He said winking towards Minty who giggled.

The three headed off, Swizzle to his own home, and Gloyd and Vanellope to the castle. When they got back, Gloyd walked her up to the front door. "Well then princess, I guess this is where we part ways." He said taking off his hat and bowing in a showy fashion.

Vanellope laughed and waved him off. "You are such a dork. Just get out of here before Sour Bill comes and shoos you out again. You know he really doesn't seem to like you very much."

Gloyd chuckled. "Probably because I always pranked him, even during all those years Turbo was in charge. Now that we hang out all the time he's probably scared." Vanellope shook her head and opened the door. The hallways were… empty. That was strange.

Every time she came home there was someone waiting for her. In fact, they were usually waiting for her in the courtyard. Whether it was Sour Bill or one of the guards, they were never empty. "Weird." Gloyd said.

"I know right." She said. She began walking inside and Gloyd followed her. "Sour Bill?" She called nervously. "Wynchel… Duncan… anybody?" She asked.

Gloyd frowned. "This is just plain creepy." He stood a little closer to Vanellope, just in case.

The two made their way towards the throne room, and Vanellope gasped when she saw two of the Oreo guard unconscious on the floor. They quickly ran over to them and kneeled down to check on them. "Their okay. Just knocked out." Vanellope said.

"Someone is in here." Gloyd said picking up one of the spears the guard was carrying. "You go and get some of the others, I'll stay here and see what's going on."

Vanellope frowned. "No way am I leaving you here alone. You stay, I stay." She said simply.

Gloyd stared at her, and then sighed. He knew Vanellope was no damsel in distress, but he still felt the need to protect her. Not only as the princess, but as a friend. He could tell she wasn't about to go anywhere right now though. It just wasn't in her to leave her friends behind.

"Fine, we'll go together."

"Afraid not."

The two jumped when they heard a voice behind them. They turned and saw a cloaked figure standing over them. "W-what the…" Before Gloyd could finish, the figure reached down and touched his shoulder. A shock ran through his body, and Vanellope watched in horror as he fell to the ground unconscious.

"Gloyd!" She quickly knelt down beside him and placed her ear over his chest. He was definitely still alive, but she could tell that whatever this guy had just did to him effected his code.

"Princess, if you don't mind would you please follow me." The figure said.

Vanellope turned towards him with fury in her eyes. There were probably questions she should be asking right now. Who this person was, why he was here, what he just did to Gloyd. But right now the only thing she could think of, was how to bring this person down. She'd find out all those things later when she had him locked up in the fungeon!

She stood up and glitched towards him, attempting to tackle him to the ground. The figure however suddenly disappeared, leaving her face first on the ground. "Hmm, is that the best you can do?" He asked. "I expected more with all the time you've had."

Vanellope stood back up and rushed at him again, but he reached out and grabbed her hand. She tried to glitch away from him, but it didn't work. "L-let go of me!" She yelled.

"Over a year of using your powers, and this is the best you can come up with. So disappointing." He said as he turned and began pulling her towards the throne room. She struggled to break loose from his grip, but couldn't. "Oh well, I guess we'll have plenty of time to teach-"

"Let her go!" The figure turned his head and then gasped when he saw Gloyd jabbing a spear towards him. He vanished, dropping Vanellope in the process, just a half second away from being stabbed. He reappeared in the throne room.

"Between you and the jawbreaker brat, I must be losing my touch." He said holding his hand up. "My business isn't with you pumpkin head, leave and we won't-"

"When you bully my friends, you make it my business!" Gloyd got off. He was using the spear to keep on his feet. Although he was still awake, it was clear that was drained. That last stab was probably everything he had left in him. "Who are you?!"

A giggle could be heard and Vanellope and Gloyd looked towards the throne. It was moved aside and the door to the code room was opened. "No…" Vanellope said.

The girl from earlier floated out on a bubble. "Who are we? Isn't that the golden question." Both Gloyd and Vanellope backed up slightly when they saw her. "If you say I look like Garry I'm going to blow you both up on the spot."

"Gwen, mind you manners. That isn't the way to speak to fellow royalty." He said walking towards them. Vanellope looked back and forth between them and the code room. She had completely forgotten about finding out who these people were. She had to get in there and find out what they had done to the game.

"You didn't have a problem speaking to Jimmy that way." She said pouting. Vanellope began glitching forward, rushing right past the girl. She was about to get into the code room, but then suddenly felt a hand grab her wrist.

"He's not true royalty." The cloaked figure said lifting Vanellope up off her feet. She once again tried to glitch away, but it was pointless. Gloyd growled and rushed towards him, but the girl flicked a finger and the bubble towards him. It knocked him back a few feet and he slide against the ground with a groan. "Not like us."

Vanellope grew wide eyed. He said 'like us'. The girl looked like Garry, she could only assume it was his sister. Maybe she had been unlocked or something, it wasn't unheard off. But who was this guy? Maybe a royal from another kingdom?

The figure suddenly dropped her. "Your glitch won't work for a few minutes. Enough for me to explain what's going on. Though it'd be rather pointless since in a few minutes-"

A loud crash was heard and they turned to see Walf running towards them. "What's the mutt doing here?!" The girl asked frowning.

"Don't call my dog a mutt." The cloaked figure turned around just in time to see Jimmy throw a punch that landed right in his stomach. He was sent flying up towards the ceiling and crashed into it. "That's for shocking me you cavity!"

Vanellope looked both confused and relieved. "Jimmy?!"

"Did they get into the code room yet?" He asked. She nodded. "Fudge, I was too late."

"Who are these guys?" Vanellope asked.

"I don't remember!" He said bluntly. Vanellope glared towards him. If he didn't remember, than that mean he knew at some point and forgot? "But there's something funky up with the cloaked one." He said raising his fists.

The figure fell back down from the ceiling and landed on the floor with a thud. The girl pointed and laughed at him. "Ha! You got blindsided again!" She said rolling around on her bubble.

He got up and then dusted himself off. "My, you really are becoming a thorn in my side, you know that? I tried to keep you out of this since it doesn't concern you. This is between me and her. If you interfere any further I won't hold back anymore."

"Go Fudge yourself." Jimmy spat.

The figure looked irritated. "Oh let it go. We've already got what we wanted, there isn't any reason for us to stay here. It's not even like we need her for the plan." The girl, Gwen said looking bored.

"I'm not leaving without her." The figure said angrily.

Walf, who had been standing off to the side since Jimmy had gotten to the figure first, growled and leapt at him. He swung one of his glaws, but the figure ducked and then jumped back. Walf however had managed to rip the hood he was wearing.

When the figure landed the hood fell to the ground in shreds. "Tch, troublesome mutt." He said annoyed. Deciding it was pointless keep wearing it, he tore the rest of the hood of and turned towards them. "So much for keeping our identities secret."

Jimmy looked a little startled, but not entirely surprised. Vanellope on the other hand looked totally shocked. The boy looked like a young man. Not as young as them, but like a teenager. He had shaggy raven black hair, and hazel eyes. "Who… who are you?" She asked.

"Viscent Von schweetz ." He answered. Vanellope took a few steps back. Von Sweet? The boy lifted his hand and pointed towards her. "You're older brother, and rightful heir to the throne."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Another bombshell! I know the last one was a huge shocker revealing Garry's sister, but I wanted to keep Vanellope's brother hidden for a while longer. The teleporting thing was a bit of a hint, it's like his own 'glitch'. **

**So, what is their master plan? What have they done to the code room? Where are the rest of their allies? Find out, in the next episode, or Sugar Rush: Return of a King!**


	3. The Patch!

**A/N: Wassup homies! Another round of encouraging reviews. You guys really keep me going with this story you know. I always look forward to how you guys receive a chapter. That being said, this is a pretty action heavy chapter, so I hope it doesn't feel out of place. This story is less about racing, and more about action/mystery, and I hope that doesn't turn a lot of people away. There will be romance in it of course. **

**Just to give you guys a heads up, after this chapter certain things will... change. I'll let you take that however you want. :=} Muwahahaha!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Adorabeezle Winterpop was a quiet, and simple girl. She had a handful of things she enjoyed. Racing was a given. She also liked doing maintenance on her kart, skiing, snowboarding. But nowadays she found herself doing maintenance more than anything.<p>

She used to go up to her secret spot in the Frosty Forrest, but ever since _that_ happened she'd been hesitant to go back there. She had also found herself becoming more distant from the others. She would go off and practice using her character item. She didn't know what for, but since that day she felt like she needed to prepare.

Because of this however, she hadn't been able to hang out with the others as much as she wanted to. She knew they noticed it too, but she couldn't find a way to tell them how she felt without seeming paranoid. So she just kept on doing what she was doing.

She kept on ending up alone on cold nights like this, doing maintenance on her kart. "You okay?" She turned around ready to attack, but calmed down when she saw it was just Snowanna. "Geez girl, you are tense."

"Sorry." Adorabeezle said letting out a sigh. "I've just been… on edge lately."

"No kidding." Snowanna said walking towards her. "You've also been on your own a lot recently. We hardly ever see you outside of racing. Want to tell me why?"

Adorabeezle looked down at her feet. She and Snowanna had always been close. They were both ice themed races, and they liked to explore the same places. She often found herself confiding in the afro headed girl. But she wasn't sure if this was the type of secret she could share with her.

Not because she didn't trust her of course, but she felt like telling her… would somehow put her in danger. "Not really." She said turning back to her kart.

Snowanna frowned. "Oh come on. You really think your little loner act is going to work on me. I know we don't hang out as much as you and Vanellope do, but I know you way better. We lived next to each other for years. Before we got out memories back, we were like this." She said twisting her fingers together.

Adorabeezle felt guilty. Not just about not telling her, but about not spending as much time with her friends as well. It was true that before Turbo arrived she and Vanellope had been very close friends. But during the time Turbo had rules, she and Snowanna had been almost inseparable. But after everything had gone back to normal they seemed to just… drift apart.

"I'm sorry. But can you please just trust on this?"

"You mean like you're clearly trusting me?" She asked sarcastically.

The two girls looked towards each other. Snowanna with an annoyed expression on her face, and Adorabeezle with a guilty one. "Trouble in paradise I see."

Both of them stopped and looked around when they heard a random voice. "Who is that!? Who's there?!" Snowanna demanded. A large bubble suddenly floated down in front of them, and when it popped in revealed Garry. "YOU?!"

Adorabeezle lifted her hands and immediately brought out her character item, the Winter Warhead. A large Popsicle like rocket that was mounted on her shoulder. Garry however didn't seem the least bit intimidated. "You've been learning how to use your item as a weapons. That's good, you'll need it."

"What are you doing here?!" Snowanna asked dangerously.

Garry simply stared at them. "You…" He said looking towards Adorabeezle. "Of all the ones here in the Candy Kingdom, you're obviously the most competent."

"What?" Adorabeezle asked.

"And you're not far behind. I'm glad I caught the both of you together." Garry said smirking.

Before either girl could ask what was going on, they saw a large light shoot up into the air. They both turned and saw it was coming from the castle. "What the-?!"

"Looks like it's started." Garry said. "You two will need to come with me."

Snowanna turned towards him. "Are you crazy?! We're not going anywhere with you!"

"It wasn't a request." Garry said snapping his fingers. Two bubbles suddenly appeared around the both of them. They both tried to break loose, but the bubbles didn't even budge. "You two are going to be in for one wild ride."

* * *

><p>Vanellope stood there in total shock. Viscent Von Schweetz? How was that possible? She didn't have any brothers or sisters. She didn't even have parents, none of them did. So how could this guy be her brother? Her <em>older <em>brother no less. "No." She said shaking her head. "Y-you're lying. There's no way you're my brother."

He appeared behind her and then patted her on the head. She gasped and turned around, quickly scooting away from him. "Then why do I have the same 'glitch' you do? By the way, it's not called glitching, it's called _rushing_. He clarified."

She began backing away from him. How did he have the same abilities as her? And how was he so much better at it than she was. She shook her head. She refused to believe that this guy, this totally stranger, who had attacked her and her friends was her brother. "I don't believe you!" She yelled at him. "Get away from me!"

Viscent smirked. "Whether you believe me or not is irrelevant. That fact is that I _am_ your brother, and rightful heir to the throne." He reached down and then pulled the rest of his cloak off and revealed he was wearing a blue hoodie with twizzler strings, just like hers. He had black pants, white and blue tennis shoes, and a crown shaped cookie badge on his left chest.

Vanellope glared towards him. "Y-you don't even look like you're from this game! Neither of you!" She said looking back and forth between Viscent and Gwen. At this point she knew she was grasping at straws. They looked incredibly similar to her and Garry. But it was true that they had some slight differences.

Their designs seemed to be in higher resolutions, and Viscent was taller than the average character. Even beard papa, who was a full grown adult, was only a few inches taller than them. But he looked like a teenager, and his height reflected that.

"That'll change soon enough." Viscent said crossing his arms.

"What does that mean?!" Vanellope snapped.

Viscent appeared behind her, and then patted her on the head. Vanellope froze in shock. When she glitched, she could move a few feet at best. But this guy could move across a whole room effortlessly, and it was almost instant. "You'll find that out soon enough. Just come with me."

She turned around and backed away. "I… you… get away from me." She said looking panicked. It was clear that this whole situation had her off her game. Between being attacked and discovering this person who claimed to be her brother, she wasn't in any mindset to fight.

Jimmy quickly noticed this and stepped in front of her. Viscent frowned. "Interfering again? You just don't learn your lesson do you?" He asked holding his hand up.

"I'm hard headed." Jimmy said lifting his fist. "Especially when it comes to my friends."

Viscent didn't seem the least bit intimidated by Jimmy. "Let me ask you something little sister. Where exactly do you think I come from?" He asked.

The raven haired girl looked surprised. She had been so wrapped up in the idea of even having a brother, she never even thought about where he might have come from? Was he another unlockable character like Sydney and Cindy? Maybe an NPC that glitched and never showed up?

"Hey, stop ignoring me!" Jimmy said annoyed.

Viscent held his hand up. "You're probably thinking I'm an unlockable or an NPC, but that's not quite right." He said. "I'm part of an update."

Both Vanellope and Jimmy looked confused. "Wha-?! How?!" Jimmy asked. "There haven't been any signs of an update!" He was right. The islands that they had discovered had already explained that they appeared the same time as the Sweet Tooth racers. And there had been no updates since then. So how could this have happened without them noticing?

"The update hasn't happened yet." Viscent said simply.

"Hasn't happened yet?" Vanellope said. "T-that can't be true! If it hasn't happened yet there's no way you could even be here! You're lying about something!"

"He's not." Gwen said. They turned towards her. "Seriously, for this to be your game, you know so little about it." She said waving her finger. "Haven't you ever heard of a patch before?"

"Patch?" Jimmy said confused.

Gwen laughed. "You really haven't? How lame!" She said giggling. "It's especially said for you, since your consoles are the only ones that can actually download patches!" She said looking towards Jimmy. "What a block head!"

Jimmy looked even more annoyed. "You little brat. I'm definitely going to spank you." He said through gritted teeth.

"It'd be way too long to explain the mechanics of downloadable patches to you, and it wouldn't matter either way since you'd forget in just a few minutes." She said shrugging.

That immediately got their attention. "What's happening in a few minutes?!" Vanellope asked.

"Come with us and find out." Viscent said holding out his hand towards her. "If you follow us, we can explain everything to you."

Vanellope looked at him fearfully. What was this guy planning? They wouldn't remember in a few minutes. Were they going to erase their memories, like Turbo did? Did that mean they were going to try and chase her out of the game again?

"I told you she wasn't going to come with us. If we were going to recruit her, we should have done it ages ago." Gwen said creating a bubble. "Let's just knock them out and be done with it."

"Try it shorty!" Jimmy snapped.

Vanellope grabbed his shoulder holding him back. "Wait a second!" She said trying to calm him. She looked up towards Viscent. "Are you trying to pull a Turbo or something? Erase my memory and take the throne? Because if so you don't need to… I… I'd let you have the stupid thing."

"What?!" Jimmy said in disbelief. "Vanellope!"

She looked down at her feet. As much as he hated to admit it, she knew this guy was her brother. Maybe it was the undeniably strong resemblance to each other. Maybe it was that she could feel the Source Code within her resonate with the one in him. She felt strange from the very moment she saw him, but she didn't have time to think about it.

But something inside of her just screamed that they were related. He was the real heir to the throne. "If you promise to leave the others be and rule fairly, you can have the throne!" She shouted.

Viscent looked surprised by this, and Gwen smirked. "Oh, that's interesting." She said.

Jimmy grabbed her shoulders. "What the fudge! You're talking crazy!" He said shaking her. "You don't have to just give in to this guy! We can fight him!"

"This is the safest way." She said. "This way nobody gets hurt. I mean, you just want to your place on the throne right? It's not like he's going to be a tyrant or anything." She reasoned. "Right?" She asked looking towards him.

Viscent just stared at her. He still seemed surprised that she was just… giving up. From what he'd heard he had expected her to go down kicking and screaming. Jimmy growled and grabbed the front of her shirt. "What the crumbs Vanellope! Why are you trying to reason with this guy?! He broke into your castle! He attacked you friends! And you're just going to give up?!"

"Jimmy, I-"

"You what?!"

Vanellope squeezed her eyes shut. "I can't do it again!" She shouted. "I can't go back to the way things were!" Jimmy looked surprised. "I don't want to be an outcast again! And I don't care who's in charge as long as I get to race! So what's the problem if I let him take the-"

She was cut off when Jimmy pushed her back. He turned around and faced Viscent. "Oh, I understand now. You're not going crazy. You're just a coward."

"Oh, this just got so interesting!" Gwen cheered.

Vanellope glared at him. "A coward? I'm going this for-"

"Yourself! You're going it for yourself!" Jimmy snapped. "You're just scared if you don't go along with this guy's plans you'll be as miserable as before! Well I don't care what he's got planned, or what you say, I'm not going to sit by and let some guy just who just showed up just take control and rule over our friends!"

Vanellope quickly glitched in front of him. "Wait a second, we can-"

"I don't care about the throne." Viscent said bluntly. They both turned towards him. "I'm not exactly sure what that little spat between you two was about, but I could care less about the throne. This isn't about who's in charge. It's about the fate of the entire arcade."

"What are you talking about?" Vanellope asked.

Viscent began walking towards them, but suddenly he saw something from the corner of his eyes. He stopped and looked around surprised when he noticed there were plants all around the room. "What is this?" He asked confused.

"My character item." They all looked towards the door and saw Gloyd with his hands on the ground. He had a serious look on his face. "Vanellope, you're our president. You can't just expect us to sit by and let you hand over control to this guy." He said sternly.

Vanellope looked at him worriedly, but then Gloyd looked up and smirked towards Viscent. "And as for you." He said spreading his hands out. The vines in the room all began moving towards Viscnet. "Welcome to the 'Pumpkin Patch'."

Gloyd's character item the Pumpkin Patch created vines that grew pumpkins all around the track. The pumpkins would move in the way and roll over the other racers. But even though he only used pumpkins in the race, he could control all types of plants off the track.

Viscent frowned towards him. He had heard one of them could control plant life, but he'd have thought it'd be Larry, with all the roses he always pulled out of nowhere. "You may be able to knock people out by touching them, but if I use this I won't even have to get near you." Gloyd said with a smirk.

He frowned as the vines began moving closer. "How clever of you. I see you have faith in my little sister. She must be quite the leader for you to be putting your neck on the line like this." He said before suddenly teleporting behind him. "But you're in way over your head right now."

Viscent raised his hand and was about to grab him, but suddenly something wrapped around his wrist. He looked back and saw Taffyta standing near the door. There was a laffy taffy vine coming from her sleeve, and it was wrapped tightly around his wrist. "You're the one who's in over his head." She said biting down on her lollipop.

"Yeah, nobody messes with our president!" Viscent looked over and then saw Candlehead sanding to his left. The fire on her head was flaring up, and she had her hands headed out towards him. "Don't move, I don't want to hurt you!"

Another figure dropped down from the ceiling and landed near them. "I do." Rancis said glaring towards him. His shoes looked different from how they usually did. They had wheels that looked like Reese's cups on the bottom of them. "Even if Vanellope did give up, we'd never follow you." He said lifting his foot. He looked ready to kick at the man.

Viscent stared at the three of them before chuckling to himself. "Well, isn't this ironic. From what I heard the three of you used to pick on my precious little sister. And now here you are rushing to her defense."

"Shut up." Taffyta said as she tightened the taffy around his wrist. The vines around his feet wrapped around his legs as well. "Give it up, you're outnumbered and outmatched."

"Please don't forget about me." Gwen said floating up into the air. She swung his arms and dozens of bubbles began raining down on all of them. Gloyd raised his arms and the vines raised up and shielded them from the explosions. "Not bad."

Viscent took the chance to teleport away and reappeared near the code room. The inside of the room suddenly began glowing, and Viscent looked back and smirked. "It seems like the others are waking up, that means it's almost time."

"Others?" Jimmy said in disbelief. "There are more?!"

"It's an update dummy, of course there are more." Gwen said.

The light faded and suddenly two figures began stepping out. "Yo man, it really was getting cramped inside of there. Being free is sick." The first was a boy with dark skin. He had on a ty-dye bandana, a ty-dye t-shirt, blue jeans, sunglasses, and a pair of large headphones.

The second figure was a girl with long blonde hair that went down to her waist. She had on an orange blouse, a brown jacket, and a skirt made out of a mini Reese's candy wrapper. The most notable trait however was the Reese's hat on top of her head. "The game hasn't been updated yet? What have you two been up to?"

"Are you kidding?!" Jimmy said in disbelief. "Like two of them wasn't bad enough!"

Rancis looked at the girl curious. When she noticed him, a smirk came across her face. "Staring is quite rude you know." She said causing him to flinch.

"Don't bother introducing yourselves. They won't remember." Viscent said. "For now just keep them from getting into the code room. Their desperate, and who knows what damage they'd do to try and stop the update from coming."

Jimmy balled his fist up and then charged. "Get to that code room at all cost!" He yelled. The other all began charging towards the code room.

Gloyd stayed back and control the vines, trying to distract the others and give them a clear path to the room. Taffyta flung her arms and laffy taffy vines shot out of her sleeves. She tried to catch Viscent and the others, but the blonde girl stepped forward.

"What a bother." She said holding her hands out. Two large Reese's cups appeared in her palms. They began spinning and the swung her hands and easily sliced through the laffy taffy vines. "You shorty's really haven't spent any time mastering your character items."

She flung her hand and one of the Reese's cups went flying towards Taffyta. She covered her face and prepared for the impact, but suddenly Rancis jumped in front of her and kicked it away with the wheel on the bottom of his shoes. "Don't touch her!" He shouted.

"Your character item, 'Reese's Rollout'. It's supposed to put superfast wheels of your kart, but you found a way to put them on your shoes. How clever of you." The blond girl said.

Rancis glared towards her. "Are you supposed to be my sister or something?"

"Take a wild guess." She said sarcastically.

Jimmy charged towards Viscent, but suddenly a large cloud cut him off. He tried to punch his way through it, but his fist bounced right off. "What is this?!" He asked annoyed.

"Nice try, but you won't be able to reach his majesty that easily yo." The boy wearing the headphones said crossing his arms. "You're not even worthy to fight him."

The light from the code room began glowing brighter. Brighter than it ever had before. Gwen looked back with a smile. "Oh, it's finally happening! I can't believe it!" She said excitedly.

"Fudge!" Jimmy cursed. A light shot out from the code room and up into the air. "We're too late, the update started!"

The light suddenly began spreading and began engulfing everyone inside the room. Gwen and the others didn't bother moving, while Rancis and Taffyta quickly tried to move out of the way. Jimmy ran towards it holding his hands up. "Maybe I can use the source code to stop it!"

He thrust his hands forward towards the light, and it stopped. But only for a moment. It soon kept going engulfing Jimmy inside. "Oh fudge!" Taffyta shouted.

Rancis grabbed Taffyta and tried to skate away with his character item, but the light soon caught up to them and covered them as well. "No!" Gloyd shouted. He raised his hands and a wall of vines raised up. But the plants quickly withered at the light's touch. "Crumbs!"

Candlehead stood in front of Vanellope protectively. She didn't know what else to do. "Hello ladies." Gloyd, Candlehead, and Vanellope all turned around and saw Garry standing near the door. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything."

The three looked at Garry in utter shock. On top of everything else, he had showed up. What in the world was happening? What kind of madness was this? "That fool, when I told him having you wouldn't get in the way of the plan, I didn't think he'd actually try and recruit you."

"What?! This was your idea?!" Vanellope shouted.

Garry ignored her. "Having you wouldn't ruin the plan, but it would certain complicate things. No, it's better if you remember." He glanced over towards Candlehead. "You could be useful as well." He snapped his fingers and a bubble appeared around Vanellope and Candlehead.

"Hey!" Vanellope snapped slamming her fist against the bubble.

Garry looked towards Gloyd. "You on the other hand… no, you're better off on that side." He mumbled to himself. Gloyd looked at him confused, until suddenly he realized the light was right behind him.

"Gloyd!" Vanellope shouted. She watched as the orange themed racer was engulfed by the light. "No!" She shouted angrily. She turned around towards Garry. "YOU! You did this didn't you?! This is all your fault!"

Garry looked up from his thought and then narrowed his eyes at her. "Listen up glitch." He said bluntly. "I can't have you giving up like you tried to do earlier. It'll ruin the whole plan."

"What plan?!" Vanellope asked.

Before he could answer however, the light had spread over her and Candlehead. Vanellope covered her eyes as she was blinded by the pure brightness. The last thing she remembered was Garry's voice saying something she couldn't quite catch."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So like I said, a little action heavy, but there was a little mystery thrown in with Garry's appearance. While he is the mastermind behind this, he has his own little goal in mind. Let's see if anyone can guess what he's really up to. I doubt it though, cause I'm evilly clever like that...**

**As for them actually fighting, I didn't want to make some superhero/DBZ type fight scenes. Their from a racing game so fighting isn't their main purpose. It's racing. But I figured using their character items as weapons would be enough. **

**I Introduced two more characters. I didn't reveal their names since I honestly didn't see a reason to. Their appearance was short, so I thought I'd save it for later. They are both related to someone however, maybe you guys can guess who. (One of them is blatantly obvious, I know.)**

**Anyway, things will really start heating up in the next chapter. I felt like these first three were kind of just a giant tease to you guys, but please don't be too mad, since the next one we'll get to see what the update will bring to the game, and what exactly Viscent means to accomplish with this. **

**So, what is Garry planning? What will this new update bring? What will happen to the others? Find out in the next chapter! And remember to read and review! **


	4. The Update

**A/N: Okay, here it is. The chapter with the big 'change'. But before you start reading, I have a heads up to give. I'm going on a cruise with my family, and we're leaving tomorrow. So there won't be another update for at least a week... kind to think of it, I usually update like like a week anyhow. But I just wanted to give you guys a heads up. I'll probably be working on the chapter during my free time.  
><strong>

**But also keep in mind I have a few other stories to work on. I haven't updated my "Fight For the Future" story in a while.(Go check it out if you haven't already) I'm also thinking of updating the High School fic again. It wouldn't be regularly, but every now and then. **

**And 39 reviews in just three chapters. We're doing pretty good guys!**

* * *

><p><em>Vanellope covered her eyes as she was blinded by the pure brightness. The last thing she remembered was Garry's voice saying something she couldn't quite catch. <em>

She groaned as she tried slowly began to regain consciousness. Her whole body was aching in pain right now. She felt like her code had been torn apart and reassembled. She tried to open her eyes, but she couldn't even seem to find the strength to do that. "Uh…"

Something wet suddenly slid across her face and she groaned again. She felt something cold press against her cheek, and then something soft on her forehead. "Um…" She grunted and then finally managed to open her eyes. Staring her in the face, was her little white pet rabbit Whipcream.

Before she could ask what the bunny was going, she felt something nudge her side. She looked over and saw Walf staring at her, with worried eyes. "What are…?" She slowly began to feel her strength returning, and managed to sit up. She looked down and realize that she was laying on a large marshmallow that seemed like it had been cut into a mattress.

She looked around the room, and realized she was in some sort of old worn down building. "Where am I?" She tried to get to her feet, but stumbled forward onto the floor. Something felt… wrong, with her body. She couldn't seem to move properly. "What's going on with me?" She said shaking her head.

She felt nauseous, and her head was throbbing in pain. Walf walked over and kneeled down next to her, making a few groaning sounds. She reached up and patted his head. "It's alright, I'll be fine." She said. "Do you know where Jimmy is?"

At the mention of Jimmy's name, Walf's eyes seemed to grow sad. He walked off to the corner of the room and then laid down, whimpering. She looked at him confused, but then turned her head towards the door when she heard the knob turn. She raised her hand ready to attack, but then noticed that Walf was staying calm.

If he was calm, then it probably meant that they were safe. Which was good, because the way she felt right now there was no way she could fight anyone, let along Viscent. Still, she kept her hand raised just in case. When the door opened she was met with a familiar face. Well, it was mostly familiar anyway. "Manny?"

It was obviously him, there was no question about that. But he was different. He was taller than before, and he was now sporting a tiny, barely noticeable scare under his right eye. "Well, glad to see you back from the land of the dead princess." He said walking inside. "I take it you're still a bit under the weather. But that's not surprising."

Vanellope rubbed her head which was still aching. "Wait, what's going on? Where are we? What are you doing here? What happened to Gloyd and the others?" She asked. "Why do you look different from before?"

Manny held his hand up. "Whoa, whoa, relax. I can't explain everything at once, otherwise it'll overload your brain. But as for why I look different… the update changed some things. You may want to take a look in the mirror yourself." He said nodding towards the left.

Vanellope looked over and saw a mirror leaning against the wall. She gasped as the reflection she saw inside. It was her. Only she was older, and taller to. Not as tall as Viscent, but she could tell she seemed to be a… a teenager. "HOLY MOTHER OF MONKEY MILK!"

She quickly reached up and began moving her hands over her face. "My face! My height! My hair!" She reached back and grabbed her pony tail which was much longer than before. "Oh fudge! Oh fudge! Oh fudge! What happened to me?!"

Manny sighed. "The update happened."

She stood up and looked over herself again. Her clothes were the same, though bigger to fit her new body. And her figure was more… girlish. "Oh man, this is so weird." She then turned back to Manny who was leaning against the wall. "W-what else has happened?! How much has the game changed?!"

"A lot." Manny said bluntly. "You've missed quite a few things since you been out. But don't worry, I'll help you understand everything so-"

"Wait, how long have I been out?" She asked confused. "It couldn't have been more than a couple of hours could it?"

Manny rubbed his chin. "Let's see, its Tuesday today, so… three weeks."

Vanellope grew wide eyed. "What the-?! Three weeks?! That's impossible!" She said starting to freak out. She suddenly felt a throb of pain in her head against and fell down to her knees.

Manny walked over and put an arm around her. "Hey, you okay? Maybe you should get back in bed. I don't think you're fully recovered yet." He said worriedly.

Vanellope rubbed her head and gritted her teeth. She was in pain right now, but she had to figure out what was going on. "Where are the others? Are they okay?"

"They're… they're fine." Manny said looking down slightly. "Everyone is okay for now."

"For now? Why for now? What happened?" She asked narrowing her eyes at him. He balled his fist up and looked down at the ground. "Manny, tell me what happened to them!"

He sighed. "They lost their memories, like before." He said. Vanellope gasped and then began looking nervous. It was happening again. The altered memories, he losing everyone. It was going to happen all over again. "Vanellope, calm down, it's not everybody. There are still a few of us left." He said trying to calm her.

Vanellope didn't listen to him. She got up and began running out of the room, ignoring her nauseous stomach and pounding head. "Vanellope, wait!" Manny called after her. She kept on running. She had to see what was going on for herself.

As she ran through the building, she noticed how old and broken down it looked. But she was too panicked right now to think about why they were even in such a rundown place. She ran up a set of stairs and burst through the door at the top. She found herself on the roof.

She grew wide eyed when she looked around. The game was so much more detailed now. Every single thing was in high resolution now. She glanced around and realized there were a number of other broken down building around the place. She then noticed what looked like a road. Was this a track?

She looked further and could see the Candy Kingdom. The town around it looked so much bigger than before. It was more like a city. The castle itself was much larger. It made the older one look like a doll house. "Vanellope!"

Vanellope quickly turned around and then saw Adorabeezle standing in the door way. She was staring at her with a worried expression. "Beezy… you remember me?"

Adorabeelze nodded. "I do. Now please get back inside. It's not safe for us to be out in the open. We could be spotted." She said holding her hand out. "Come back inside."

"I'm so confused. Everything is so different and-"

"We'll explain everything to you. But right now we need to get back inside where it's safe. The others will want to see you." She said. Vanellope nodded and then began walking inside. Adorabeezle put an arm around her. "I'm glad you're okay. We have a lot to catch up on."

* * *

><p>Vanellope sat at the table in the middle of the room and tried to stop the aching in her head. It had calmed down quite a bit, and she was no longer writhing in pain, but it was still there. She glanced around the room and saw that it was just as old and dirty as the rest of the place. Were things really so bad that THIS was the best place they could find to hide?<p>

She balled her fist up. Three weeks. They had been on the run for three weeks, running for their lives, and she had been sleeping. "It's not your fault you know." She looked up and saw Manny standing in the door way.

"Yes it is. I'm… I'm so weak. You've all been out here struggling to survive, and I was just knocked out, slowing everyone down." She said sadly. "This is all my fault. Since Garry had gotten defeated I was too relaxed about everything. I didn't think something like this could happen to this game three times. I was careless."

Manny walked over and patted her shoulder. "You never could have seen this coming Vanellope. Nobody could have. And don't beat yourself up. You did nothing wrong. I mean I was supposed to be Jimmy's head guard, and I was out hunting when the palace was attacked. Now that's pathetic." He said. "The only reason we still remember is because we weren't near the castle when it happened."

Vanellope gave him a sympathetic look. "You wouldn't have been able to stop them. You should just be glad you're here now."

"Take your own advice."

"So, you guys have been following Beezy since I been out?" She asked.

"Yeah." Manny said with a bit of a sour look on his face. "Hey, tell the others I'm going to go keep watch. I'll let you know if anything happens."

As soon as he walked out, another figure rushed in. "Vanellope!" She was totally caught off guard as Candlehead rushed in and caught her in a bone crushing huge. "Oh mod, I'm so glad you're okay! I wasn't sure if you were ever going to wake up!"

Vanellope tried to get loose, but couldn't. "Candlehead! You're crushing the poor girl!" Another voice cut in. She heard the green haired girl gasp before releasing her. She glanced up at her and noticed that Candlehead was taller, and her pigtails longer.

"I'm so sorry!" Candlehead said looking over her worriedly. "Are you okay?!"

Vanellope nodded yes and looked up towards the other voice. It was Tea, who was smiling down at her warmly. She was taller too, but other than that there wasn't much change. Her hair was still in two buns, and she had the same green lotus Fang had given her in her hair.

"It's good to see you up and about. We were all very concerned about you." She said holding up a cup of hot chocolate towards her. "I would have made tea, but I wasn't sure what type you liked."

She took the cup and smiled. "Thanks. And it's good to see you too." She said for once feeling genuinely happy since she had woken up. She took a sip of the hot chocolate and let out a relieved sigh.

"Don't burn yourself." She looked back up and saw Snowanna. She was, like everyone else, taller. She was wearing hooped earing now, her skirt was gone, and she was wearing bellbottoms. "Glad your awake boss lady."

Vanellope looked relieved to see so many familiar faces. Despite being confused and totally out of the loop, just being around her friends relaxed her a bit. She then grew a curious look on her face. "Wait, are you guys the only ones that remember? It's just the six of us?"

The three girls frowned. "Sorry, but we're all that's left." Tea said. "The others have all had their memories altered. We tried contacting them, but… well, Viscent has put the word out on us. They think we're their enemies."

Vanellope felt another pang of guilt pass through her. So the others had all forgotten her again? Swizzle and Minty had no idea who she was now. Her best friends were oblivious to her own existence now. And then there was Gloyd. That really made her heart sink. The person she was closest to in this game forgot her.

"What about the game? I know it's an update, but they've had to notice that we're missing. We're all main racers." She said. She hadn't wanted to sound like she was bragging, but she was the main character. At least she assumed she still was. They could have had to know she was gone.

"They disguise a few Gum Guards as us. I don't know how, but they use to code room to make them our spitting image. They're racing is… terrible. But the players don't even notice." Tea said.

"Have… have you tried getting to the code room?" She asked.

Adorabeezle entered into the room. "There's no point. Even with you now awake, there's no way we'd be able to get to one of the code rooms, let alone both. Between the other racers, the town guard, the royal guard, and your… your brother…" She said hesitantly. "….we'd never even get close."

"Maybe I could glitch past-"

"All of them? No way Vanellope. For you to do that would mean going in alone, and facing off against Viscent. Even if you hadn't just woken up and were at full strength, I don't think you could beat him. He is way too powerful." Snowanna said.

"So then what are we supposed to do?" Vanellope asked. From what she was hearing it seemed like this whole situation was hopeless. "Should we try going outside for help? The other arcade characters were willing to help us before, maybe they'll do it again. I know at least Ralph and Calhoun will be able to help us."

Candlehead frowned. "I tried leaving to go get help, but somehow Viscent has sealed the entrance to the game. No one gets in or out." She explained.

Adorabeezle pulled out a map and placed it on the table. "But that doesn't mean we still can't get any help. Viscent and Garry had put the word out about us, but there's still Trickery Treat Island, or Hard Candy Island." She said.

Vanellope looked confused. "Hard Candy Island?" She asked.

"The game has changed a lot more than you think." Snowanna said. "There's a few knew islands, the candy citizens are now candy themed people, and the guards are now more… competent. And the two kingdoms aren't the biggest players in the game anymore."

"Trickery Treat Island is the biggest trade port now. They're considered so powerful that the mayor has just as much influence as Viscent and Garry do." Adorabeezle said. "And the new island, Hard Candy Island, create all the karts and keep power running for everyone. Their like the mechanics of the game. So they have a lot of pull too."

Vanellope nodded. "Do you think we could really convince them to help us though?"

Swnowanna nodded. "Trickery Treat might be a little unwilling. Their supposed to be a trade port, so even if they did believe us, then they might not want to risk going again their two main costumers. But Hard Candy Island. Well, they're a really rough group of people, and they're not particularly close to anyone. If we can convince them, they'll probably help."

"Convincing them won't be easy though. I hear they're a really hard headed group. And their leader sounds even more stubborn that Jimmy does." Adorabeezle said. "But we don't have a lot of options right now, so it's them or nothing. At the very least we'll be safe from Viscent."

Vanellope looked at the map. The game was so much bigger than before. "So all we have to do is make it to this island right? Sounds easy enough."

"It won't be. There are guards surrounding the docks in both kingdoms, and ships guarding the borders. We'll be lucky just to get the docks without being spotted." Snowanna said.

Manny suddenly walked inside of the room. "There was a troop of guards outside, but it looks like they were just passing through. Still, I think we should move just to be safe."

Adorabeezle nodded. "Any ideas on where too."

"Well, there's a spot out in the Candy Cane Forest that should keep us pretty well hidden. It's a bit of a drive through." Manny suggested.

"Sounds fine." Adorabeezle said. "Let's gather up the supplies and get out of here."

Everyone began leaving the room, except Adorabeezle who'd started gathering everything off the table. Vanellope frowned. "I'm… I'm sorry." She said looking down. "Looks like since I've been out you've really had to step up."

Adorabeezle looked confused, but then smirked. "Well don't get used to it. As soon as you get better you're taking the lead again. This is was harder than you make it look." Now let's get down to the garage and load up the bikes."

As she walked out something caught Vanellope's interest. "Wait, did you say bikes?!"

* * *

><p>"This is so sweet." Vanellope said looking over the motorcycle. It had a brown maple syrup theme to it, not surprising since it was Sydney's, and was really sleek looking. "I can't believe they actually added bikes to the game. This is so awesome." She said running her hand over it.<p>

Adorabeezle smiled and patted her own bike. "Apparently a lot of kart games have both nowadays. I honestly still prefer bikes, but these are much quicker and easier to maneuver when we're trying to get away." She said.

Tea walked up beside her. "Yeah, I ended up getting stuck with a double dash kart. We had to have at least one to carry our supplies on." She said nodding towards her kart.

Vanellope looked confused. "Wait a second, if everyone has bikes and the double dash karts carries supplies, what have I been riding on?"

Adorabeezle scratched the back of her head. "Well… we kind of just tied you down with the supplies. We were going to grab you a kart, but the guards were coming and-"

"You just tied me down with the rest of the supplies! Are you kidding me?!"

"We were very careful with you." Tea said trying to calm her.

At they began arguing, Manny kept loading on supplies onto the back of Tea's kart. He looked annoyed right now, but not because of the bickering. "You okay?" Snowanna asked walking up behind him. He nodded, but she saw right through it. "You know you can talk to me, right?"

He stopped for a moment, and Snowanna though he might have actually gotten through to him. He had been pretty closed off since all of this had started, more than he usually was, and it was worrying her. "I'm fine." He said as he walked towards his kart.

She sighed, but made her way over to hers. After some bickering, they decided Vanellope would ride with Adorabeezle until they could get her a bike. "Okay guys, let's get going. Same formation as always." They all began revving their bikes. "If we run into anyone, don't try to take them on. Just keep moving and avoid fighting if you can."

Vanellope made sure Whipcream was tucked safely into her jacket pockets. She held on tightly, and they took off. The bikes were a lot faster than the karts. It was like everything around her turned into a blur. All except Walf who was easily keeping up. She suddenly felt another headache and grabbed her head. "You okay?!" Adorabeezle asked.

Vanellope winced as began to glitch slightly. "Y-yeah, I'm fine." She said taking a deep breath. I guess going this sped is a little more exciting than I thought. But I'll be okay."

Adorabeezle nodded and turned back around to drive. Vanellope kept grabbing her head. What was going on with her? Even back when she couldn't control her glitch, she had never had any headaches or sickness. Was this really because of the update, or was it something else?

* * *

><p>Viscent Von Schweet made his way through the courtyard. He needed to get some fresh air after everything that had happened. A meeting with the royal council was always annoying and taxing. They pretty much just made up things to complain about. Did his sister have to deal with such formalities when she was in charge? Probably not.<p>

"Your majesty." He flinched slightly when he heard a familiar voice behind him. He turned and saw a long blonde haired girl. The very same one who had stepped out of the code room the night of the update. "What are you doing out here? You're supposed to be in a meeting."

"Kittan, hey. About the meeting… yeah…" He scratched his cheek trying to think of an excuse. "I was getting tired and needed to stretch my legs a bit, so I figured I'd take a walk into town-"

The girl suddenly pointed at him. "That's a relief. Because if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to shirk your kingly responsibilities. But I know that you'd never do something so irresponsible…" She narrowed her eyes at him. "…right?"

He flinched slightly at her gaze. Kittan Flutterbugger was an incredibly intimidating girl. She had taken her position as royal advisor very seriously, and she wasn't afraid to call him out on anything. "Oh c'mon Kittan, I've been working hard lately. Don't you think I've earned a break?"

"You can take a break once the kingdom is safe." She said simply. "Speaking of which, I've heard a few rumors that there were figures spotted around the abandoned building around Hershey's Highway. We should send a scouting troop to-"

"I know." Viscent said simply. "I've known where they are ever since she's woken up." He said pointing to his head. "We have the same 'Rush', and it connects us."

Kittan looked shocked. "Wha-?! If you knew then why haven't you said anything! We could be going to capture them right now!" She shouted.

"Because we don't need to capture them. We just need to keep them here. And for now they don't have any plans of leaving. Then they do, we'll be ready to capture them." Kittan stared at him for a few second before reaching forward and pinching his arm. "OW!"

"Knock it off with all that mysterious stuff! Just say where they are so I can send someone after them!" She snapped.

"Alright, fine." He said rubbing his arm. "Their headed towards the Candy Cane Forest."

Kittan began walking further and made her way to the fountain. "Cloud!" She shouted. A boy wearing a ty-dye shirt and bandana, the one who had also walked out during the update, jumped up and nearly fell inside of the fountain.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! What's going on?! What's happening?!" He asked looking around.

She growled at him. "Stop lying about Cloud! We know where the rebels are! Go take your lieutenants and some troops and bring them back here immediately!" She said pointing.

The dark skinned boy sighed and got up. "What? But I thought Viscent said it was fine as long as they didn't try to get out of the kingdom." He asked with a scowl.

Kittan looked furious. "Cloud…" She said through gritted teeth.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Fine." He said getting up. He began walking out of the courtyard, passing by two green haired figures who were sitting on the other side of the fountain as he did. "Looks like break time is over guys. We have a job to do."

"Yes sir." Minty said standing up.

"About time." Swizzle said smirking.

They both got up and began following him.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So, there it is! The characters are all a few years older! I was kind of hesitant about doing this because there are a lot of fics where Vanellope and the others grow older(most of them involve her and Rlalph dating, which I find kind of creepy honestly) but I was aiming more for a teen thing rather than adult. Old enough to be able write in a little more mature plot, but not too old to take away that bratty, witty, charm they all have! **

**Hopefully this doesn't put people off. I'm not planning on changing their personalities at all. So how do you guys like it so far? I tried to explain most of the changes to the game, but I couldn't stuff everything into one chapter, so you'll find out more as they go along with it. **

**So Viscent is aware of where Vanellope is! Do her headaches have something to do with this? And Swizzle and Minty are going to help capture them? How will this reunion between old friends go down?! Find out in the next chapter!  
><strong>


	5. Fighting On a Cloudy Day!

Vanellope sat on a rock near a river and looked up at the sky. There were cotton candy clouds in the air, and they looked delicious. She wished she could reach up and just take a bite out of them. She looked over at Tea who was stirring some kind of soup in a pot. She hoped that she would hurry up and finish with lunch. She was getting hungry.

They had stopped a while ago when she had gotten another headache. It wasn't really as painful as before, and she tried to convince them to keep going, but Adorabeezle decided they would stop and get a little rest. Adorabeezle was currently going over the map, and Snowanna was checking over her bike.

Candlehead was tossing around a fireball back and forth between her hands, which seemed to have Walf and Whipcream hypnotized. "Hey guys, do you think Manny had been gone for too long? Maybe one of us should go check on him." Candlehead asked.

Snowanna rolled her eyes. "Forget about him. If he wants to act all cold and like a loner, I'm not going to stop him." She said looking annoyed.

Vanellope looked towards Adorabeezle who shrugged. "At c'mon Snow, cut him a little slack. He is the only guy in a group full of girls. If you had to hang around Swizzle, Gloyd, and Rancis all day I'm sure you'd go crazy too." Candlehead reasoned.

Snowanna huffed. "Well then he should just say that. I've been trying to get him to spill what's on his mind for the past weeks, and he's just too stubborn to talk to me." She said frowning.

Adorabeezle sighed. "You know how Manny is Snowanna. He's not big on expressing his feelings, especially not around women. Just give up some time to clear his head." She said looking back down at the map.

Vanellope looked over towards the direction that Manny had left. She knew he was a capable hunter. She'd seen him track down animals for Tea's ingredients before. Though she'd never seen him actually catch anything. She didn't have the stomach to actually watch him finish off an animal, even if it would regenerate.

She was still worried however. Going off on his own was dangerous. If he got caught he wouldn't have anyone to back him up. Maybe she should have sent Whipcream with him just to be safe. No one would suspect the little rabbit was working with them.

A rustle in the bushes caught their attention, and they all turned to see a Ginger Buck running across their campsite. Suddenly an arrow flew through the air hitting it in the leg. "Walf, get him!" Manny's voice shouted.

The waffle wolf's eyes turned sharp and it turned and quickly cut off the deer. It pounced on top of the smaller animal and the girls all turned away before they could see what happened next. All they heard was Walf growling and the deer's screeching. When they turned back, they saw Walf sitting beside the deer's corpse, smiling proudly.

Candlehead quickly turned around and ran to the closest bush to throw up. She passed by Manny who walked towards them with a smirk. "Brought back dinner." He said chuckling.

Vanellope and the others all looked shocked. They knew Walf hunted his own food. Every now and then he'd bring back an antler or horn like it was a trophy. But they'd never seen him actually _kill_ anything before. How could he switch between being so sweet to savage and back so easily? It was unsettling.

"That was terrifying." Vanellope said grabbing her stomach.

Adorabeezle shivered and then looked back down at her map. Walf walked over to Tea, dragging his kill with him. Tea turned away looking nervous. "I-I'll use it later." She said.

Walf lowered his ears and looked disappointed. Manny walked over and patted him on the head. "Well, I appreciate the help boy." He said scratching him behind the ears. The wolf panted happily and let his tongue hang out.

Snowanna got up and began stomping towards him. "You big jerk! You should have taken that thing down before it got to camp! Or at least kept chasing it so we didn't have to see… that!" She yelled pointing to Walf.

Manny glared at her. "Are you kidding me?! I'm hunting down food for everyone and you're giving me an earful! I hate to break it to you Mr. Prissy pants, but we're not back home anymore! If we want to survive, you're going to need to get used to stuff like this!"

Snowanna threw her arms in the air. "I'm not saying not to hunt, just don't do it in front of us! I mean me and Adorabeezle are one thing, but you've totally scared Candlehead! And Vanellope is already sick as it is! Plus you don't HAVE to kill every animal you see! There is fruit around here you could pick you know!" She shouted.

He looked like he wanted to shout something back, but then just sighed. He turned towards Adorabeezle. "When are we leaving?" He asked.

"After we eat." Adorabeezle said simply.

"We should eat on the go. Staying in one place for too long is dangerous." Manny said. He knew the longer they stayed, the more tracks they left for anyone pursuing them.

"Vanellope still isn't feeling well."

Vanellope raised her hand. "I'm starting to feel better. I think I can ride again." She said. Though eating may be a problem after what she had just seen.

Adorabeezle shook her head. "Take your time and rest up. Walf will sniff any threats. Like I said, we leave after we eat." She said turning the map sideways. "Should be right around here…"

Manny gritted his teeth and then walked off. "I'll be back." He said walking off. He walked back Walf who was about to follow him, but he held his hand up. "Stay, and watch them." He said sternly. Walf frowned and lowered his head with a whimper.

Candlehead passed by him as he walked off. "Where you going?" She asked curiously. He didn't answer her. Instead he just kept walking. She tilted her head. "Is he okay?"

"Leave him be. He just needs some time to clear his head." Adorabeezle said. "And Snowanna. Stop being so hard on him. If he doesn't want to talk about his problems, what makes you think harping on him is going to?"

Snowanna crossed her arms and pouted. "Fine."

Walf walked up to Candlehead and the girl flinched slightly. She couldn't get the image of that vicious snarling wolf out of her head. "Um… hey." Walf tilted his head confused and then walked over to Tea who patted him. "Sorry…" She mumbled.

Tea shook her head. "It's understandable. You've never seen Walf like that before. It's always a little shocking the first time." She said as Walf laid down beside her.

Adorabeezle finally put the map down and then took a drink from her bottle of lemonade. She smiled and then pointed upwards. "Okay, I've drawn out a safe route towards the Candy Cane Forrest. So long as we move carefully, we shouldn't run into him."

"Who?" Vanellope asked.

The other all looked towards her. They had forgotten that Vanellope had no idea about their new enemies. "Oh man, I forgot you haven't met him yet." Candlehead said.

"Lucky you." Snowanna said annoyed.

Adorabeezle stood up. "You're brother has been sending one of his top captains after us. He is extremely tricky to deal with. Do you remember the ty-dye guy from the throne room?" She asked. Vanellope nodded. "Well, he's been on our heels for the past week."

Vanellope grew wide eyed. "Really? Him? He seemed like kind of a goof ball. I would have thought the blonde girl would be the one to look out for."

"Don't underestimate cloud. His abilities make him pretty much untouchable." Tea said.

"Cloud?" Vanellope asked.

Adorabeezle nodded. "Cloud D. Rainbeau." She said.

Vanellope listened to the name carefully. "Cloud D. Rainbeau… Wait a second! Rainbeau?!" She said turning towards Snowanna who was looking down towards the ground embarrassed. "That guy is… your brother?" She asked in disbelief.

Snowanna sighed. "Please don't remind me! That guy if a total lame-o! I mean that guy is actually into hip-hop music! Hip-hop! And he had the nerve to diss my taste in disco!" She said grabbing her hair. "I can't stand it!"

"This is so weird." Vanellope said.

"Weird doesn't even begin to describe Cloud." Snowanna said bitterly.

* * *

><p>Cloud made his way down the road bobbing his head. "Me and my lieutenants on another epic quest, gonna take out the rebels and bring back the princess. But you guys should watch out cause their really dangerous, so be careful when we counter them and remember this." He said before turning around and looking towards Swizzle and Minty.<p>

Swizzle chuckled at his antics while Minty rolled her eyes. "Captain, maybe instead of trying to explain it to us in rap, you could explain it to us like normal people." Minty asked. "All I got from that was that we have to capture the rebels and… a princess? What princess?"

Cloud sighed and reached forward patting her on the head. "Minty, you have to learn to loosen up sometimes. I'm sure Swizzle understood what I was trying to say."

"Nope!" Swizzle said smiling. "But it was a pretty cool rap boss."

He rubbed the side of his head. "Okay, I guess I'll explain it normally then. Our mission is to capture the group of rebels that have been running around. Viscent managed to find out they're on their way to the Candy Cane Forrest. So we're going to intercept them."

"And the princess part?" Minty asked. "Don't tell me they managed to kidnap Princess Gwen. I know she's spoiled, but she's always been able to hold her own."

Cloud snapped and pointed at her. "They did not. But one of the rebels is supposedly the younger sister of Viscent. She's supposed to be an add-on, but the rebels managed to unlock and capture her before we could find her. So we're going to get them back."

Both Minty and Swizzle looked shocked. "Viscent has a little sister?! No way!" Swizzle said in disbelief. "How come we've never found out before?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise." Cloud said. "Anyhow, she's been with the rebels for who knows how long, so she's probably all mixed up about what's what. For all we know she's going to think we're the enemy. She may even attack us. But remember, the priority is to capture."

Minty frowned. "Fighting our own princess. That seems kind of… wrong."

"It's for the best." Cloud said. "The sooner we capture her, the sooner we can turn her back to normal. Also remember that the rebels have been watching us for some time. They probably know all sorts of things, and they'll try to confuse you with info. Don't be fooled."

Swizzle nodded firmly. "We won't! We'll take them down and rescue the princess! I hope she's cute!" He cheered holding his fist up. Minty slapped him in the back of the head. "OW!"

"Baka!" She shouted as she kept hitting him on the head. Swizzle covered his face trying to shield himself from her mini assault.

Cloud watched them with a small smile on his face. He'd spent the last three weeks working with these two, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't like having them around. Of course that made lying to them all the harder. But he couldn't have them find out what was really happening. Not yet anyway. It would only put them in danger.

He walked over and then placed his hands on both their heads. "Chill yo." He said separating them. "Minty, you know this guy is really dense, give a break and teach him some sense. Swizzle stop being so hard headed bro, Minty gets real jealous on you know." He rhymed.

Minty blushed while Swizzle chuckled. "I-I'm not jealous." She said.

Cloud turned around. "I'm going to go scout ahead and see if I can find them, be ready so if we come across we can bind em." He said before his body suddenly started turning into a large cotton candy cloud. The cloud split apart and began to separate.

As they flew off, Swizzle smirked. "That's our captain for you."

"I wish he would stop rhyming…" Minty said sighing.

* * *

><p>Manny loosed another arrow and watched as it struck its target. A piece of fruit hanging from a candy tree across the lake. He reached back and grabbed another arrow. He didn't care if anyone found them later. If they didn't care about getting caught, then why should he?<p>

He'd try to stay quiet, he really did. He knew that Adorabeezle had a level head, and she more often than not made the right call. But Manny didn't like following anyone, least of all a girl that he didn't know all that well. He wasn't a follower. He wasn't even really a team player. He could lead if it came down to it, but more often than not he was better on his own.

Still, he couldn't just leave them. Not in a situation like this. If something had happened to them and he wasn't there to stop it, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself. He'd already let Jimmy down, he wasn't going to let the same happen to them. But it was driving him crazy not being able to call the shots or go off on his own.

If he could he'd sneak back into the kingdom and just take out Viscent before he even knew what hit him. But doing that meant leaving the girls behind, and he couldn't do that. If they got attacked while he was gone… he was sure they could hold their own in a fight, but Cloud was too dangerous even for him. He wouldn't risk it.

He let another arrow go, but before it hit its target, something strange happened. The arrow was knocked out of the air by… another arrow. "Not bad kid." Manny quickly looked around try and find the source of the voice. "Up here."

Manny looked up and then saw a man standing on top of a tree branch. He had brown shaggy hair, wore a brown tunic, brown boots and gloves, and an eye patch over his right eye. Manny looked at the man with a glare. He aimed his arrow up at him. He couldn't let anyone report back to Viscent or Garry. They'd have guards swarming them in no time.

Manny quickly fired at him, but the man moved his head to the side. Dodging the arrow. "You're a thousand years too early to be able to hit me boy." The man said with a smirk.

"Time must really fly then, because I guarantee this next one won't miss!" Manny shouted firing again. The arrowed was aimed towards the man's chest, but the pulled out a dagger made of rock candy and deflect the arrow right before it hit him. "What?!"

The man smirked. "Like I said, a thousand years to early." He said before pulling out his own bow. He pulled out and arrow and jumped down as he fired it at Manny.

Manny rolled out of the way dodging the arrow, but the second he got up and man was in front of him swinging his bow like a staff. "He's fast." Manny thought ducking. He pulled up his own bow blocking the next strike, but the man quickly spun around and swing his bow downwards knocking his feet from under him.

Manny fell onto his back and quickly tried to get up, but the man kneeled down on top of him and grabbed his shirt. "Don't move kid." He said sternly.

With one swift movement, Manny reached up and snatched the dagger from his waist. The man grew wide eyed and jumped back just before Manny could stab him. Manny saw him reaching for an arrow and quickly tossed the dagger at him. The man moved his head dodging it, but when he reached back he noticed his quiver of arrow was gone.

He looked down and then realized that when he had dodged the dagger, it had cut the strap on his quiver. "You clever little-"

He didn't have time to finish as Manny pulled up his bow and fired more arrows. The man dodged them as he made his way towards Manny. He jumped up and kicked the bow from his hands. Manny reached back to grab another arrow. "You're bow is gone, you can't-"

Manny broke the arrow head off and then used it to swipe at the man. The man stepped back in surprise. Manny swung again, but the man grabbed his wrist and then twisted it, forcing him to drop it. Manny grunt in pain as the man forced him down to one knee. "You've lost."

Manny tried to use his free hand to punch at him, but he quickly twisted his arm began his back and then pushed him to the ground. He twisted Manny's arm even further. "AH!"

"Stop struggling."

"Fudge you!" Manny shouted.

The man looked at him with a mixture of annoyance and amusement. "You were quite the little fighter just now. Where did you learn to throw daggers like that?" He asked.

"None of your fudging business." Manny said scowling at him.

"Didn't anyone teach you to respect your elders boy?"

"The only respect I'm going to give you if the respect of the dead." Manny threatened as he kept struggling to get loose. "If you're working for Viscent or Garry, you may as well save it. I'm not spilling anything to you."

The man picked up his dagger from the ground and then turned back to Manny. If the boy was afraid, then he didn't show it. To his surprise however, the man put his dagger away and then let go of him. Manny got up and quickly backed away from him. "You're very skilled for someone your age." He said.

Manny rubbed his wrist as he glared at the man. "Who are you?" He asked. "A spy?"

"I have a feeling you already know who I am." The man said with a smirk.

Manny looked at him for a few seconds and then gritted his teeth. He'd never seen this guy before, but the answer seemed pretty obvious to him. The update had given everyone family. This guy looked like he was middle aged, and his skills with his bow were all to familiar.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say you're my father...?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the long update. Was working on other stories... go check them out!  
><strong>

**Okay, when I finished this chapter I realized something. This is pretty much the third time I've ended it revealing someone family member. I don't know if you guys have noticed or are tired of it, but this is in all likeliness going to be the last time I end a chapter with a reveal. I don't want to make a habit of ending a chapter the same way. **

**So what do you guys think of Cloud? I based him off of Killer Bee from Naruto. A really cool, corny rapper. His powers, turning into cotton candy, is more based off Smoker from One Piece(as you can tell, I watch a lot of anime.) Making him Snowanna brother just seemed like a good fit. I could see him being the annoying older brother type, and driving Snowanna up a wall. **

**The scene with Walf finishing off Manny's hunt was just to remind everyone that while Walf is loyal companion, he's still a wolf! **

**And Manny's father showing up always part of the plan. I wanted at least one of the parents to know what was going on. He's not going to join their litle group, but I do have something planned for him that heavily involes Manny's development int he story. **

**Remember to read and review!**


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